Index

• The Dark and Middle Ages
  • The Dark Ages
  • The Middle Ages
  • Bridgwater Castle
  • Town's Mediaeval Layout
  • St Mary's Church
  • St John's Hospital
  • Grey Friars
• Bridgwater's Fairs and Markets
  • The Earliest Fairs
  • St Matthew's Fair
  • Markets and Trade
• Bridgwater Carnival
  • Bridgwater Carnival
  • Historical Background
  • Cornhill Bonfire
  • The Final Bonfire
  • Squibbing
  • Early Disasters
  • The Evolution of Carnival
  • Carnival Concerts
• 17th Century
  • English Civil War
  • Admiral Blake
  • The Plague
  • Monmouth Rebellion
• River and Shipping
  • Earliest Records
  • Blossoming Trade
  • Shipbuilding
  • Docks
  • Bertha the Dredger
• 18th Century
  • Stage Coach Travel
  • The Iron Bridge and the Turnpike Trusts
  • The Architectural Legacy
  • Entertainment
• Bridgwater and Slavery
  • Somerset Rebels Sold into Slavery
  • Bridgwater’s Petition
  • A Slave Speaks Out in Bridgwater
• 19th Century
  • Political Corruption
  • Disenfranchised
  • Advent of the Railway
  • Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
  • Utilities
  • Bridgwater’s Regiment
  • The Borough Constabulary 1834-1940
  • The Bridgwater Workhouses
  • The Brick and Tile Trade
  • The Brickyard Strike of 1896
  • Bath Brick
  • Wicker Products
• Early 20th Century
  • Introduction
  • Introduction of Electricity
  • The New Fire Stations
  • The Launch of the Irene
  • An Unwanted Suffragette
  • First World War
  • Changes in Transport
  • Between the Wars
• Second World War
  • Vernon Bartlett
  • The Day War Broke Out
  • Rationing and Restrictions
  • Prisoners of War
  • Women’s Land Army and the War Effort
  • Air Raids
  • Home Guard and Returning Heroes
  • VE Day
• Late 20th Century
  • Post War Bridgwater
• Around and About the Town
  • Admiral Blake Statue
  • Bridgwater Infirmary
  • Blake Gardens
  • The Cannon
  • Castle Street
  • The Cornhill
  • Friarn Street
  • King Square
  • The Old Vicarage
  • Penel Orlieu
  • Royal Clarence
  • Salmon Parade
  • Town Hall
• Lesser known Bridgwater Worthies
  • Captain George Lewis Browne, William Hubber and the Battle of Trafalgar
  • John Clark, Inventor of the Mackintosh
  • Denis Heron
  • Frances Barkley
  • Brother John Somer
  • Fanny Talbot
• Did You Know?
  • Did You Know?

History

Somerset Rebels Sold into Slavery

Around the county, there are many fine houses to be found which were the spoils of those families who benefited from the slave trade.  Elsewhere in the county, there was strong support for the abolition of the slave trade.  Slavery by the British began in the mid-17th century.  By 1685, at the time of the Monmouth Rebellion, it was in full swing.  After the Battle of Sedgemoor and the ensuing Bloody Assizes, when hundreds were hung, drawn and quartered, the King granted permission for convicted rebels to be taken into slavery.  With hundreds of Somerset men being transported, local feeling against slavery ran high.  These were not the wealthy landowners, but yeoman of strong religious convictions, condemned into slavery. 

In total, 612 Somerset men were transported into slavery and sailed in eight ships to the West Indies.  Many died during the voyage, some died on the quayside awaiting their auction.  Within four years, the survivors were granted free pardons but most lacked the fare home.  Those who returned, told their families and communities of life as a slave.  No wonder then that it was Bridgwater which was the first town, in 1785, to petition parliament for the abolition of slavery.

From the Bridgwater area alone, the following were just a few of those taken in October 1685 and transported on board the John destinedfor the plantations in Barbados:

Text Copyright © 2008 Roger Evans